


Not Everything Stays The Same

by vix_spes



Series: Christmas Gift!Fics 2012 [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-15
Updated: 2012-12-15
Packaged: 2018-01-01 01:36:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1038791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur realises that older him feels very differently about a certain person....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Everything Stays The Same

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the lovely [ analise010](http://analise010.livejournal.com)

Arthur thought that he really shouldn’t be surprised when he went to Alice’s house to collect Mordred after work only to discover that his son wasn’t actually with his babysitter. He didn’t even have to ask where his wayward offspring was because he would be in Mordred’s favourite place; the bookshop that was run by Alice’s partner Gaius, one of several businesses in the village that the man owned, and was run by Gaius’ nephew Merlin. Ever since Mordred had met Merlin, he had adored the man and would spend as much time as physically possible with Merlin. In fact, there had been quite a few occasions where Arthur was convinced that Mordred preferred Merlin over him.

It had been strange, returning to the village that he had grown up near years after he had left, but following the death of his wife Morgause, Arthur had been unable to face staying in the city and the house that they had shared together. He had moved back to Camelot, the pretentiously named estate that his grandfather had built and immersed both himself and Mordred in the village life of Ealdor. Very little in Ealdor had changed since Arthur had left for university and after the traumatic upheaval of his life Arthur had actually found that reassuring but there was one thing that definitely had changed. That thing was Merlin Emrys.

Arthur and Merlin had both attended the same school, Albion Grammar, but had never run in the same circles and as such, Arthur didn’t know what had happened to Merlin once they had finished school but he presumed that Merlin had attended university. Merlin was the one person that there was never any village gossip about; he was universally adored. There was no person who adored him more than Mordred. Arthur’s son, who had completely withdrawn into himself after his mother’s death, came alive when he was in Merlin’s presence.

For his part, Arthur had found himself warming to Merlin more and more as time went on. Where he once would have barely bothered to say hello to the younger man, he found that now they were constantly thrown together because of Mordred and that he had found a friend for himself. What had surprised him even more was that, the more time that they spent together the more he found himself attracted to Merlin, pondering what it would be like if there was more than friendship between them. Pushing open the door to the bookshop and being greeted by two sets of blue eyes looking at him from where Mordred sat cuddled in Merlin’s lap being read to, Arthur was struck with the urge to kiss Merlin. Maybe he would pluck up the courage at the village Christmas party next week and yes, he was well aware of how ridiculous that sounded. All he had to do was drop a few hints to Alice and she would have mistletoe all over the place. Merlin would never know what had hit him.


End file.
